When Spike TV’s Deadliest Warrior pitted zombies against vampires only the most die-hard fan knew one of the best firearms-related shows in the history of the world ever had jumped the shark. Not that I mind dumb gun questions; they’re one of the main reasons God invented cigars. Here’s one (a story) that I stumbled on earlier (fans of reality should look away now): Could a Handgun Have Taken Down a Dinosaur? I’m expecting a .50 Classic Desert Eagle for T&E any day now, so, obviously, this has been on my mind. That said, The Straight Dope must have been smoking some to think anything less than a “Goalkeeper” [above] would do-in a Rex reliably. Your thoughts? [Make the jump for some stupid stuff about shooting a T Rex from Stephen Templar’s magnum opus rexGun.]
- Given the giant reptile’s speed, agility, and aggressiveness, you’ll get only one shot.
- Crippling a T. rex, even if you’re skillful enough to hit its fast-moving legs, is difficult due to its thick bones. So you need to shoot to kill.
- The critter has a massive skull clad in dense muscle protecting a relatively small brain case, making a head shot pretty tough.
- Unfortunately, T. rex’s heart is also well protected—your bullet must penetrate three or four inches of skin and abdominal bone, then travel several feet through more dense muscle to reach the vitals.